Fifth Graders
by Aiyta
Summary: Hey Arnold! episodes, set in the fifth grade, post confession. Helga and Arnold's friendship grows as they attempt keep their new-found closeness from their classmates.
1. Introduction

**FIFTH GRADERS**

'_Fifth Graders' _will be a story made entirely of 're-done' Hey Arnold episodes, with the twist that they are set in **fifth grade **(with Mr Simmons still their teacher) and, of course, set _after _FTI.

Helga and Arnold have developed a friendship (which Helga insists be kept a secret) that is slowly growing and developing.

Hence, the rewrites of the episodes will reflect how things may have gone if Helga and Arnold had a little friendship/flirtationship going on.

Depending on the story, the events depicted may be happening for the very fist time or it may be mentioned that something similar happened the year before. For example, in my in my rewrite of 'Little Pink Book', Arnold and Gerald _did _find a pink book in Fourth Grade and now, in Fifth Grade, they've found another. On the other hand, in my rewrite of 'Helga's Boyfriend', Helga did not date Stinky in Fourth Grade, she is dating him for the very first time in Fifth Grade.

Helga and Arnold _will _get together at some point eventually and the episodes will then incorporate keeping their relationship hidden and then, in time, going public. Basically, you'll get a little bit of everything, a chunk of 'secret friends' episodes, some 'secret boyfriend and girlfriend' episodes and some 'everybody knows and it's totally adorable and fluffy' episodes.

**Whole Episodes / Added Scenes: **I will not be entirely re-writing **all** episodes, in some cases (especially episodes where Helga and Arnold have very little interaction, or where I don't think their interaction would have changed the course of the episode greatly) I will simply be adding 'bonus scenes' featuring conversations/incidents that happened between the two before, during or after the story.

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**Up First: **Field Trip, a bonus scene, where Helga talks with Arnold in the underwater viewing area of Lockjaw's enclosure.

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**_Enjoy :)_**


	2. Field Trip

**FIFTH GRADERS**

**Episodes/Stories: **These are all 're-do's' of Hey Arnold episodes, with the twist that they are set in **fifth grade **(with Mr Simmon's still their teacher) and _after_ FTI. Helga and Arnold have developed a friendship (secretly of course) that is slowly growing and developing. Hence, these rewrites of the episodes are meant to reflect how they may have gone if Helga and Arnold had a little friendship/flirtationship going on.

Depending on the story, the events depicted may be happening for the first time or it may be mentioned that something similar happened the year before. For example, in my rewrite of 'Little Pink Book', Arnold and Gerald _did _find a pink book in Fourth Grade and now, in Fifth Grade, they've found another. On the other hand, in my rewrite of 'Helga's Boyfriend', Helga did not date Stinky in Fourth Grade, she is dating him for the very first time in Fifth Grade.

* * *

**FIELD TRIP (Bonus Scene –** _Arnold goes to see Lockjaw in the underwater viewing area_**)**

Arnold slowly descended the stairs of Lockjaw's underwater viewing area as the childish laughter and taunts of Sid, Stinky and Harold continued to ring out from the platform above.

"Lockjaw?" Arnold said softly, searching the large glass windows for signs of the ageing turtle, "Hey? Lockjaw?" he repeated, as unsettled dirt began to cloud the floor of the enclosure.

Lockjaw meandered slowly toward the blonde boy, "Hey man." Arnold greeted the sad animal, who immediately placed his large green foot against the viewing glass.

Surprised by this, Arnold slowly raised his small hand and placed it against his side of the glass, staring thoughtfully at the poor caged creature.

"You have a do-gooder look on your face." said a very familiar voice, one he was surprisingly happy to hear.

Arnold spun around quickly to face the tall blonde girl, "Oh, hi Helga." he responded with a small smile, before carefully checking their surroundings for other class members.

"It's okay." Helga assured him, tentatively making her way toward his position near the glass, "Everybody is still outside."

Arnold relaxed, knowing that retaining a secrecy around their new-found tolerance for each other was very important to Helga, "Did you follow me down here?" he asked playfully, relishing the chance to give his former nemesis a hard time.

Helga scoffed, crossing her arms defiantly, "Yeah right Arnold! I just _happened _to be walking down here, okay."

"Whatever you say, Helga." Arnold snickered, turning his gaze back toward Lockjaw, who was watching the two children intently.

Helga moved closer, placing herself right beside Arnold and carefully studying the so-called 'scary turtle' for herself, "You're going to set him free, aren't you?" she inquired knowingly.

Arnold raised an eyebrow in surprise, "You know me too well." he deduced, wondering how somebody who had hated his guts for so long could know so much about him.

"Ah yeah..." Helga began, her cheeks flushing a little as she nervously rubbed the back of her arm, "Well, you're such a goody two-shoes... A turtle in trouble seems right up your alley."

Arnold smiled warmly at her, "I'm glad we're friends." he declared.

"Yeah, yeah." Helga muttered softly, narrowing her eyes and focusing closely on a floating piece of seaweed in the tank ,"But keep your mouth shut bucko, nobody needs to know that Helga G. Pataki befriended the football headed geek."

"Sure Helga... and for your information..." Arnold began, looking forlornly toward Lockjaw, "I don't plan on setting anything free. I just think it's unfair."

Helga rolled her eyes, "_Whatever _you say Football Head." she mocked, as the sounds of classmates drew closer, "Gotta go, catch ya round."

Arnold sighed as Helga dashed back up the stairwell, slipping back into the crowd of their peers undetected, she was certainly an interesting girl.


	3. Arnold's Hat

**FIFTH GRADERS**

**Episodes/Stories:**These are all 're-do's' of Hey Arnold episodes, with the twist that they are set in **fifth grade**(with Mr Simmon's still their teacher) and _after_ FTI. Helga and Arnold have developed a friendship (secretly of course) that is slowly growing and developing. Hence, these rewrites of the episodes are meant to reflect how they may have gone if Helga and Arnold had a little friendship/flirtationship going on.

Depending on the story, the events depicted may be happening for the first time or it may be mentioned that something similar happened the year before. For example, in my rewrite of 'Little Pink Book', Arnold and Gerald _did_find a pink book in Fourth Grade and now, in Fifth Grade, they've found another. On the other hand, in my rewrite of 'Helga's Boyfriend', Helga did not date Stinky in Fourth Grade, she is dating him for the very first time in Fifth Grade.

* * *

**ARNOLD'S HAT**

Arnold awoke blearily to the sounds of his potato-powered alarm clock, the feeling of flying through the clouds in his dream still leaving a dreamy smile on his face. Pulling the switch on the alarm, he gazed up through skylight as birds flew overhead, a bright summer's day outside.

Arnold flipped his legs over his bed, sliding out onto the soft orange carpet and heading downstairs toward the bathroom. Remarkably, it was unoccupied by the usual line-up of boarding house members and Arnold immediately slipped inside.

Humming blissfully, he brushed his teeth meticulously before jumping underneath the warm water of the shower, leaving his lucky hat firmly in place. Soaking underneath the warm water always gave Arnold a chance to re-contemplate his latest dream as he washed his unruly blonde hair.

Arnold spun the squeaky taps to stop the steady flow of water, and stepped out in front of the steamed-up mirror, placing a comb into his cornflower locks and returning them to their usual upright position. After blow-drying his small hat, Arnold placed it carefully in its proper place and admired his reflection with a satisfied smile.

* * *

Grandma held her triangle high, clanging the small metal object as loudly as she could to indicate that breakfast was prepared.

Arnold sauntered in eagerly, having smelt the unmistakable aroma of pancakes, and took his seat at the table.

"Eat up Tex!" Grandma said cheerfully, placing a large stack of buttermilk pancakes onto his empty plate, "You'll need your strength for the cattle drive." she assured him, as yet another helping of pancakes was piled on top of the first.

Arnold gazed wide-eyed at the significant serving of breakfast, "Yeah, right Grandma." he agreed with a small smile.

"That's Calamity Grandma!" she informed, waving her cooking utensil to prove her point, "And take off your hat while you're in the Ranch House, Tex. Why you got the manners of an old billy goat." she said as she flipped the small blue hat into the air.

"Grandma." Arnold warned as he caught the hat, grasping to it tightly, "You know I never take off my hat."

Grandma walked away, shaking her head at her young grandson, "Once a cowboy, always a cowboy." she muttered as she resumed her place at the stove.

Arnold playfully rolled his eyes at his Grandmother and set about tackling the sky-high stack of pancakes on his place.

* * *

Arnold and Gerald sat in silence on the wooden park bench, Arnold bending a spatula into the correct shape as Gerald looked on with interest.

"Gerald." Arnold said, taking a thoughtful look at the shiny silver utensil, "I think the problem with this kite, is in its aerodynamics."

Gerald frowned at his friend, "Yeah, well I think the problem with this kite is... it won't fly!" he said, raising his hands and shrugging.

Arnold inspected the long string of rope and miscellaneous objects in his hands, "Maybe if we add more knots to the tail." he suggested hopefully.

Gerald shrugged, knowing they may as well try seeing they had no other options, and jumped down from the bench to walk into the nearby open field with his friend.

* * *

Helga sat in her closet, before her Arnold shire, with her legs sprawled out over the floor whilst she intently studied the paper she held in her small hands. Unhappy with her most recent idea for the 'Arnold's Birthday Present' list, she hastily drew lines through the neatly written words.

"So many ideas..." Helga frowned, "And yet, the _perfect _birthday present is still missing."

Tapping her purple pen against the notebook, she attempted to think of the best possible present she could give, one that showed she was a good caring friend, yet did not give away her hidden feelings.

"What would the perfect present be?" Helga groaned, casting a longing glance over at her football-headed shrine, her eyes resting on the small space between his two tufts of hair.

* * *

Arnold fixed his attention on the red material of the unsuccessful kite, attempting to unearth a possible solution to their current gravity issues.

"Hmmmm.." Arnold mumbled, fidgeting with the steel supports, "Why don't we try without the tail?"

Gerald looked at him with an exhausted expression, "Face it Arnold, your kite bites!" he said, standing from the Library steps and moving down the sidewalk.

Arnold followed his friend, clutching the small red kite in his hands as they walked along by the tall library fence, "Come on Gerald." he sighed.

"Why don't you give up, this kite don't belong in the sky." Gerald said, "It belongs in a trash can."

Helga steadied herself a top the very last pillar of the library fence, remaining frozen in her cunning gargoyle stance, to ensure her position would not be identified.

"Gerald." Arnold frowned as they approached the final pillar.

Helga carefully leant over as the two boys passed, silently cursing her beloved for choosing to walk on the _far _side, as she attempted to reach out and take hold of the small blue hat. Unfortunately, Arnold moved quicker than she had first anticipated, resulting in a quick loss of balance that sent Helga tumbling forward, only to fall directly into a nearby trash can.

* * *

Arnold diligently tied a small pink balloon, filled with helium, to the metal support structure of the failing red kite.

"Gerald." Arnold smiled, "This kite's gonna fly, I guarantee it." he said optimistically as they strolled down the city sidewalk, on their way back to the park.

Helga watched them carefully through her newly acquired long-range binoculars from her strategic location on the nearby building, her father's fishing rod at the ready to complete her important mission.

"Helga." She smiled to herself, as she clutched the fishing rod, "You're a genius."

Hauling the rod backward as the boys passed by below her, she sent the hook flying toward her target, only to have it hook securely to the bumper bar of the parked delivery van on the road side.

"Oops." Helga gulped as the van's driver spluttered the vehicle to life and floored the accelerator, effectively drawing the full line of the rod before Helga could drop the handle. Helga screamed as the rod jerked her forward, pulling her along the rooftop and directly toward a wooden aviary. Helga glanced around nervously as she came to a halt in the centre of the pigeons home, looking anxiously up at the bird above her which, as expected, did its business right onto her face.

Helga wiped her face with a grimace, slowly picking herself up and sitting down at the building edge to contemplate her failing mission.

"What do I have to do?" Helga complained to herself, "All I want is that hat so I know what size I need to get for his birthday present. It's not like I'm going to keep it forever, just for a few hours, is that too much to ask?"

* * *

Arnold grinned up at the now-airborne red kite, flying high above himself and Gerald in the open field of the park, helped greatly by the addition of the helium balloon.

Arnold turned his attention toward his doubtful friend, "See, I told you I could make it fly." he said, causing Gerald to place his hands on his hips and shoot Arnold an unimpressed look.

Wind picked up quickly, sending a large gust past the two young boys and effectively pulling the small kite further in the air, past the length of the string on the reel. Arnold frowned as the now empty reel sat in his hands, their kite blown far away with the wind already.

Arnold reached upward as he felt another strong gust of wind knock his lucky blue hat from his head, lifting it up into the sky and out of reach.

"Hey! My hat!" Arnold cried out, uselessly raising his arms to the sky as he helplessly watched it fly away.

Helga sat with her head in her hands on the edge of the tall building by the park, "I'll never get it." she sighed, "I'll never know what size hat to buy without managing to get Arnold's hat from him!"

Helga's eyes opened wide as a short burst of wind flew a familiar blue object onto the ground ahead of her, "Hey!" she cried out happily, "Arnold's hat!"

Grasping the object safely in her hands, she held it up and brushed the dirt away, "I knew I'd get it, I knew it all the time." she stated proudly, "Oh Arnold, my love, I will get you your birthday present and then return your hat at once!"

* * *

Helga slammed the door to her bedroom open and kicked it shut behind her before hurrying quickly to her bed and carefully searching through the layers of poems, birthday lists and shrine making materials until she located a tape measure. Handling the lucky blue hat of her beloved with the utmost care, she measured it and then recorded the all-important results onto her newest list.

"It is time to shop." Helga said softly, cradling the blue hat close to her chest, and deciding an impromptu waltz with the sacred object would be fitting.

Helga slipped a dramatic piano recording into her tape player and spun around the room with the hat in her hands, "What's that you say?" she asked dreamily to the hat, jumping onto her bed, "My birthday gift to you is simply divine?" she smiled, "You think it's lovely?" she sighed as she leapt to the ground and ran to the far corner of the room, "You've never _had _such a beautiful present?"

Helga twirled dramatically to the centre of the room and placed the hat on top of her head, "I knew you would love it!" she dramatically proclaimed, clutching her hands to her chest and fluttering her eyelashes.

"Helga?" Miriam slurred, knocking haphazardly at her daughter's bedroom door and trying unsuccessfully to turn the handle, "The door's locked honey, what are you doing in there?"

Helga lifted a tentative hand to the blue hat on her head, "Nothing, mother." she said guiltily.

"Okaaay.." Miriam said slowly, "Did I hear you say you were going to the store?"

"Yes Miriam." Helga sighed, pulling the hat from her head and holding it in her hands.

"Okay honey, pick up some milk alright?" Miriam instructed tiredly.

Helga frowned, placing the blue hat down onto her bed, with the other important birthday supplies, "Sure." she agreed with frustration.

"Thanks Helga." Miriam mumbled uninterestedly, "Bye."

* * *

Gerald looked hesitantly over toward his best friend, who was walking dejectedly beside him through town.

"It's no big deal Arnold." Gerald tried to assure him, "It's just a hat. Why don't you go buy another one?"

Arnold's expression remained unchanged, "You don't understand Gerald." he responded glumly, "My hat is special, it's part of me."

"It's all in your mind Arnold." Gerald said as they passed by Mr Green, working on the window display at the Green Meats butcher shop, "You look fine without it."

"Hey Arnold." Mr Green called out from behind them, "What happened? You get a bad haircut or something?"

Arnold frowned, "No Mr Green, I lost my hat." he mumbled as they continued walking, fast approaching Mrs Vitello's Flower Store.

"Hey Arnold." Mrs Vitello spoke up as they passed, "What's with your head? You lose a fight with a lawnmower?"

"No." Arnold responded, "Just my hat."

Harvey the mailman glanced up from pulling letters from the post box as the boys walked by, "Hey Arnold." he said, "Are you sick? Man you look terrible."

Arnold stepped up onto his stoop, toward the front door, "See Gerald." he said, "It's no good, I'm just not the same without my hat."

Gerald shook his head sadly as his best friend disappeared into the Boarding House.

* * *

Arnold trudged gloomily to his bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind him and immediately face-planting onto his soft pillow. Breathing a sigh of frustration, he reached for the television remote and switched to the sports station, hoping for a sufficient distraction from his current situation.

"Oh it's Hat Day at today's game!" the commentator announced, as the screen flashed to a shot of the large 'Hat Day' billboard, "Just look at the crowd, forty thousand hats on forty thousand heads. Hats as far as the eye can see."

"There's a hat!" he continued, as shots of happy-hat wearing spectators graced the television, "There's a hat! There's another hat! And over there... hats! Hats, hats, hats, hats, hats..." he droned on.

Arnold grimaced, immediately switching the television off again and deciding to rest in peace and quiet for a moment. Immediately, his mind wandered to thoughts of his parents, the people who had given him the blue hat when he was just one year old.

_"Here's your very own hat Arnold." said the man Arnold imagined as his father, as he leant over to the small football headed child, "Aww, look at the little man."_

_"You and that hat Arnold." said the feminine voice of Arnold's mother, "You're perfect, just like that."_

Arnold was shaken from his daydream by the sound of his best friend's voice, echoing up to his room from the street below, "Hey Arnold!" Gerald called out.

Arnold clambered over to his window, reluctantly opening to see Gerald standing in the middle of the street, surrounded by chaos, as the Jolly Olly man shouted "Come on kids."

Gerald looked expectantly up toward Arnold, "The Jolly Olly man's gone insane, he's passing out free ice cream!" Gerald yelled, "Come on down."

"No!" Arnold refused, "I'm not coming out without my hat. Ever, for the rest of my life!"

Gerald wrinkled his brow as Arnold shut the window and disappeared back into his room, "Okay." the boy conceded, "More ice cream for me."

Helga looked mournfully at her ice cream, and then to the ice cream being freely passed out behind her before dropping her raspberry flavoured treat to the ground and rushing off down the sidewalk.

"Oh my beloved, the havoc I have brought, tampering with the laws of nature." Helga cried as she hurried down the street, her locket clutched in her hands, "I will hasten my endeavours my love, so that I can right this grievous wrong and restore to you that which makes you the Arnold I worship and adore."

Harold bent down on the sidewalk, wobbling with the countless ice creams in his grasp, attempting to find a suitable bench to begin his chocolate buffet. Helga frowned as she approached him, pushing him to the side as she rushed by, "Outta my way, fat boy!" she demanded as he went flying, his ice creams scattering onto the pavement.

* * *

Helga flew up the stairs of her home, a small gift box clutched in her hands as she headed for her room, eager to return Arnold's blue hat to him. Smiling brightly, Helga moved toward her bed, reaching to sift through the jumbled mess when she realised it was empty.

Helga let out an ear piercing scream of distress and bounded down the stairs into the kitchen, where she found Miriam mixing up yet another smoothie.

"Mom! Mom!" Helga cried out in dismay, as her mother dropped a row of ice cubes into the blender.

Miriam continued unaffected, glancing toward the opposite side of the bench, "Pass the Tobasco, dear." she said lazily.

Helga slowly passed the vile sauce to her mother, the look of concern never leaving her face, "Uh, did you happen to see a collection of paper and seemingly useless junk randomly arranged on my bed?" she inquired.

Miriam lowered the bottle, "Ah huh dear." she confirmed, "I threw it all out."

Helga's face dropped, "What?" she gulped.

Miriam raised an eyebrow at the strange behaviour of her daughter, and simply turned to her blender, switching it on to the highest setting. Helga took a deep breath and let out another high pitched scream that was this time thankfully drowned out by the blender.

Helga dashed out the front door, panting as she saw the dump truck pull away from her house and travel down the street.

"Wait!" Helga called out after it, "Come back!"

Helga coughed and spluttered as the fumes from the departing truck clouded her vision and choked up her lungs.

"Stupid sanitation engineers." she fumed, waving her fist menacingly, "I've got to get that hat back."

* * *

Arnold stood aimlessly in his room as his Grandfather opened the door and let himself in.

"How's it going short man?" Grandpa asked, wandering over toward his grandson.

Arnold remained still, "Oh, okay I guess." he mumbled.

Grandpa knelt down beside him, placing a hand on Arnold's shoulder for support, "Oh Arnold, I know you feel all wrong without your hat." Grandpa consoled him, "I felt the same way when my hair fell out. I tried every trick in the book to hide my bare top but then I realised it didn't matter, my head looked different but I was still the same person I've always been."

"You're who you are because of what's on the inside, not what's on the outside." Grandpa assured him.

Arnold nodded slightly , "Yeah, I guess you're right." he conceded, "But I just can't get used to it."

"Well, you think about what I said" Grandpa smiled, patting him on the back before leaving.

Arnold turned slowly around to gaze at himself in the mirror, when muffled sounds came through the doorway.

Grandpa crouched outside of his grandson's bedroom , "You are who you are because of what's on the inside, not the outside, the inside." he chanted in the eeriest voice he could manage, "The inside, not the outside..."

Arnold cocked his head in the mirror, considering the reasoning's of his grandpa's muffled voice.

"Are you listening Arnold?"Grandpa frowned when he had yet to hear movement or response from the boys room, "The inside, not the outside!"

Arnold smiled at his Grandfather's attempts to convince him, "I'm gonna do it." he decided.

* * *

Helga fought her way through yet another avalanche of garbage, pulling her small body from beneath various household waste products.

"Yuck." She cried out as she trudged down the tall pile of rubbish, "I can't believe this, three hours of digging through garbage! I just gotta find that hat!"

Helga peered over the remaining piles of junk, surveying the surrounding area for unturned mounds of waste to continue her search in, when a flock of birds flew overhead. Preparing for the worst, she winced and covered her head with her hands. Moments later, satisfied that the immediate threat had passed, she lifted her head with a sigh of relief, only to be rewarded with a large dropping from above.

Helga wiped her forehead of bird poop and glanced down at the ground, where a small blue object was hopping along strangely. Helga gasped as she recognised the little blue item to be Arnold's hat.

"Eureka!" she exclaimed, "I found it!"

Helga bent down to retrieve the hat from on top of the poor confused pigeon, who had been hopping around blindly for god-knows how long, allowing it to finally fly back into the sky.

Helga cradled the hat proudly in her hands, gazing adoringly at the blue fabric, "Now, to return it to its rightful place, atop the darling head of my beloved." she swooned, "Or.. should I say... my friend Arnold. " she added, scrunching her face up with thought, before remembering the task at hand and tearing off out of the dump with the hat.

* * *

Gerald opened up Arnold's front door and sauntered down the steps onto the footpath.

"Ready when you are buddy." He said to his hat-less friend.

Arnold let out a nervous sigh before proceeding to walk along the city streets with his best friend.

"Hey Arnold." Mr Green said as they passed by Green Meats, "You're looking good. Have you been working out?"

Arnold smiled a little as Gerald dropped back behind him and offered Mr Green an appreciative thumbs up.

"Hey Arnold." Mrs Vitello smiled as she placed a bunch of roses into a vase outside her flower shop, "Did you get a new haircut, it looks nice!"

Arnold felt the smile on his face spread a little more, as he felt a more confident in his new appearance. Gerald grinned at Mrs Vitello, giving her the thumbs up for her efforts.

"Woah, Arnold!" Harvey exclaimed as Arnold walked by, "Man, anybody ever tell you, you look like some sorta sun bronzed Greek god these days!"

Arnold looked back at the mail man and grinned at his, somewhat over the top, attempt at flattery. Gerald shook his head, placing a hand to his forehead in exasperation before running to catch up with his '_sun bronzed' _friend.

"See!" Gerald said happily, "I told you, no big deal!"

* * *

Bus1105 pulled abruptly up to the curb at its stop, the bus driver waiting impatiently for his smallest, and smelliest, passenger to disembark.

"Hey, the next time you get on my bus, make sure you take a shower little lady!" the driver warned as the thin blonde girl headed for the exit.

Helga looked back and glared at the overweight man, "Yeah, yeah, stick it in your ear pal!" she yelled as he drove away.

"Oof!" Helga grunted as she felt her body collide with something solid.

"Woah!" Arnold mumbled as his path was interrupted by a flash of something pink.

"Arnold." Helga said softly as she pulled back and realised who she had accidentally run into on the side walk.

Arnold blinked, and smiled when he saw he had bumped into Helga, "Sorry, Helga." he said politely.

Helga shook her head violently to clear her from the daydreaming haze their close body contact had placed her into, "I-I mean, hi, how's it going Football Head?" she asked nonchalantly.

Arnold's eyes suddenly opened wide, a sharp intake of air causing him to gasp loudly as his gaze settled on the object in Helga's hands, "Helga!" he cried out joyfully, "You found my hat!"

Arnold reached forward and snatched the hat from her hands, staring lovingly at the small object. Helga watched on, clasping her hands together with happiness at the sight of her beloved looking so blissful.

Helga shrugged, focussing her attention on sounding neutral, "Oh, yeah... I did." she responded; glad that he had not witnessed her moment of weakness.

"I can't believe it." Arnold grinned, placing the hat in its rightful position between the tufts of his blonde hair, "Thanks Helga, thanks a lot!"

Arnold jumped toward her, utterly overjoyed, and wrapped her up into the tightest hug he could manage. Arnold softened a little as he realised how delicate and girly Helga felt to hug, he'd never really paid much attention to how it _felt _to hug Helga before.

Helga let out a laboured sigh, almost collapsing in his embrace before remembering _where _she was and _what_ kind of sounds she was emitting. Regretfully, she swung her palm swiftly into her face, slapping herself from her dreamy trance and bringing her back to reality.

Arnold stumbled backwards as Helga pushed him strongly away from her body.

"Watch it bucko!" Helga warned as Arnold wobbled and attempted to regain his composure, "We're on a street... where people can see!"

Arnold watched her with an involuntary half-lidded gaze, "Sorry." he apologised, "I couldn't help it."

Helga frowned, shaking her head at him, "Don't get all sappy on me Arnoldo." she said, rolling her eyes, "Now, get outta here before anybody sees us!"

Arnold immediately checked their surroundings, just to be safe, "Yeah, good idea." he agreed with an affectionate smile, "Thanks again Helga! I'll call you tonight, okay?"

Helga nodded dumbly in response, watching as he skipped merrily on his way home, a hand placed protectively on his favourite blue hat.

"Oh, I'll be counting the minutes, my love." she swooned, clutching at the locket around her neck.


	4. The Baseball

**FIFTH GRADERS**

**Episodes/Stories: **These are all 're-do's' of Hey Arnold episodes, with the twist that they are set in **fifth grade **(with Mr Simmon's still their teacher) and _after_ FTI. Helga and Arnold have developed a friendship (secretly of course) that is slowly growing and developing. Hence, these rewrites of the episodes are meant to reflect how they may have gone if Helga and Arnold had a little friendship/flirtationship going on.

Depending on the story, the events depicted may be happening for the first time or it may be mentioned that something similar happened the year before. For example, in my rewrite of 'Little Pink Book', Arnold and Gerald _did _find a pink book in Fourth Grade and now, in Fifth Grade, they've found another. On the other hand, in my rewrite of 'Helga's Boyfriend', Helga did not date Stinky in Fourth Grade, she is dating him for the very first time in Fifth Grade.

* * *

**THE BASEBALL (**_Opening Scene_**)**

Arnold startled from his daydream suddenly, the images of a bright burning baseball headed for the city leaving his mind as a small rock hit the back of his leg. Arnold shook his head slightly and glanced back at the blonde pigtailed girl who had thrown the rock. Helga nodded her head, motioning toward Harold in front of them, who was currently releasing a baseball in Arnold's direction.

Arnold barely had time to blink before the small white ball sailed straight past him and into Helga's catcher's mit behind him.

"Strike One, Hair Boy!" Helga announced loudly, rocketing the baseball back in Harold's direction, before lowering her voice a little, "Sheesh, wussy swing." she playfully teased, ensuring only Arnold could hear her comment.

Arnold raised his eyebrow at her, attempting not to let too much of a smile show on his face, as he awaited the inevitable call from Helga for everybody to move closer.

"Okay!" Helga called out, crouching back down into her catcher's position, "Move in! This guy can't hit!"

Harold nodded in agreement and motioned for the field of classmates to move inward. Arnold frowned a little at Harold's eager acceptance of Helga's demands, he could remember it being this way since pre-school. Harold teased Helga, for ridiculous things like her appearance, but he respected her authority readily, especially when it came to sports. In fact, Harold was _always _trading his lunch with Helga too, despite the strange oddities that she usually left him with, such as a can of shaving cream.

Arnold briefly wondered whether maybe Harold had a little _thing _for Helga, a passing thought which brought an uncomfortable feeling to the pit of Arnold's stomach for reasons he could not explain.

"Just you and me, _Arnold_" Harold's voice taunted from the pitchers 'mound', breaking Arnold from his strangely concerning thoughts, "Your old stick, against my brand new triple-stitched imitation major league baseball."

Harold tapped the ball to his mitt, drawing backward for the throw and lurching his body forward as he released. Arnold glared a little at him, looking the large boy up and down and feeling a suddenly overwhelming annoyance toward him. Not that Arnold _cared _who had some crazy crush on his _friend_, he was just curious, that was all.

Arnold's eyes shot wide open with the realisation that the baseball was suddenly right near him. Taking a panicked swing, his bat brushed the ball lightly at the last minute, causing it to bobble up slightly and fall straight back down into Helga's grasp.

"Strike Two!" Helga confirmed, holding up two fingers to properly display the count.

Arnold's classmates chuckled at his inattentiveness to the game, whilst Helga threw the baseball back to Harold. Gerald, Sheena and Nadine watched on with concern from the sidelines.

Gerald glanced at them for a moment, "Come on Arnold!" he encouraged, pumping his fist in Arnold's direction, and motioning for Sheena and Nadine to do the same.

Arnold grimaced at his bat, spitting into his hand and securing his fingers tightly around the handle. Shuffling his feet, he crouched down a little and leant over the plate with a determined stare.

"_OOhhh Arnold_, who do you think you are?" Harold mocked him, "Mickey Kaline or something?"

"Yeah." Arnold said through gritted teeth, still largely confused by his sudden anger toward Harold, "That's right, I'm Mickey Kaline."

Harold pursed his lips together, winding up again for a fast pitch. Drawing the ball backwards, he almost fell over as he hefted his body with the ball and sent it flying toward Arnold with a spin.

Arnold shifted backward in his stance, bat at the ready, as the ball flew toward him. With a determined swing and a loud smack, the 'genuine imitation' baseball was sent flying through the air and off into the horizon.

Arnold gulped a little as he watched the ball disappear, unsure whether this turn of events would earn him a pounding from Harold.

Helga stood slowly, lifting her heavy catcher's mask from her face to watch the baseball with awe, or at least, that's what she made it _look _like she was watching – as she secretly ogled her beloved.

Classmates in the field watched on with amazement, none of them even attempting to chase after the rogue ball. Gerald, Nadine and Sheena uttered words of astonishment as they stared.

Harold lifted his hands to his face in dismay, "My ball!" he cried out, "My ball! My brand new ball!" chasing helplessly down the road after his prized possession.

Once the shock had worn off their faces, the class mates soon realised that they would probably receive a week's worth of punishment from Harold if they didn't attempt to help him locate the baseball. Reluctantly, after sharing knowing glances, they wandered off in the direction Harold had run.

Gerald followed closely behind Sheena and Nadine, who were muttering about the hit, when he realised Arnold was not with them. Gerald turned back to Arnold, who was still standing frozen in his place, "You coming or not Arnold?" he asked, gesturing toward the group of classmates walking down the city street.

Arnold jumped a little at Gerald's voice, "Uh." he responded, shaking his head slowly, "I'll catch up with you later."

Gerald considered asking questions, but after taking a quick look and realising his friends were now some distance away, he shrugged at Arnold's strange behaviour and disappeared down the street, rushing to catch up with everybody else.

Helga meandered her way over to the sidewalk, flopping down onto the curb and making herself busy, removing her catcher's gear and placing it by her side. Arnold spun around from his position at the striker's plate, and walked over toward Helga on the side of the road.

Helga smirked at him as he approached, "Nice work, Football Head." she said, with a good mix of congratulatory praise and biting sarcasm, perfect for maintaining her mysterious air.

Arnold sat next to her on the curb, dropping his bat beside him, "Think he'll pound me for losing his ball?" he asked hesitantly.

Helga nodded, scrunching her face up at him, "Course he will paste for brains!" she confirmed, pointing a finger to his chest, "I have half a mind to pound you too... for proving my field placement wrong like that."

"You wouldn't." Arnold said, rolling his eyes at her, "You've _never _pounded me."

Helga shifted her position a little, to glare directly at him, "Don't make me start today, bucko!" she warned in that menacing tone that, friend or not, was downright scary.

Arnold was contemplating wether to throw in a witty remark or to apologise, when he heard a muffled, and far away, cry from down the road.

_"I found it!" _Harold's voice echoed triumphantly, mixed with relieved sighs and enthusiastic chatter from the rest of their classmates.

Arnold glanced toward their direction down the street for a moment, before turning back to face Helga, "Guess they'll be heading back this way." he pointed out sadly.

"Yeah." Helga nodded, looking tentatively down at her hands for a few seconds before standing up from the curb and quickly gathering her equipment, "I'd better get going." she said as she looked down at him, "See ya in the funny pages, Arnoldo."

Arnold watched as she set off down the sidewalk, bundle of baseball equipment in her arms, "See ya Helga." Arnold said softly, with a smile across his face.


End file.
